Hey all!
 
I've had my 96 MR2 with a 98 Redtop BEAMS (donated from a Celica) for a while now, it works well and things are mostly good.
I've noticed huge huge lack in torque when below 4k rpm (likely when VVT-i is still dormant), like I am talking real struggle, it's very noticeable. I am not sure why this might be, but come to think of it, I was reading this: http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=91467 ("Common issues - MAF Sensor" section)
And I couldn't help but notice the article mentions that the MAF sensor is super finicky in the Redtop, and any intake but the stock reduces power greatly...
 
I've got an aftermarket pod filter installed, and that's how it was when I purchased the car a few months ago.
 
Can anyone say for sure that going from/to a stock or aftermarket intake made a difference, and if so, was it noticeable? The article I linked says the MAF is thrown off by most intakes, and alters the fuel/air ratio so that it is not optimal/right, therefore of course decreasing power greatly!
 
Thanks for taking the time to read this.
Hope I can find some useful information, maybe I can get some lost power out of this?
 
-Andrew

I've got a Beams from an imported 98 MR2 half cut which has the original factory airbox and find the power delivery very linear. I have read the same things about aftermarket pod filters so I stuck with the factory setup.

The factory BEAMS intake setup was optimised and tuned by Yamaha, and does an excellent job at low-mid RPM for an NA engine with such high flow characteristics.
Aftermarket intakes (on a SW20 BEAMS setup) are indeed generally worse than OEM, as they haven't had the R&D poured in with flow dynamics, etc.
Unfortunately, OEM SW20 BEAMS intakes are super rare too...!

Factory setup....

Thanks for the prompt overnight responses guys!
 
Well, I've contacted this local importer that's literally right next to my house haha, they're called Moster Import, and I'm trying to see if I can lay my hands on a red top beams intake lid. Apparently you can strap that onto a normal airbox and you have yourself a redtop OEM intake.
 
Any other suggestions or ideas?
 
Thanks :D

andezzat
Thanks for the prompt overnight responses guys!
 
Well, I've contacted this local importer that's literally right next to my house haha, they're called Moster Import, and I'm trying to see if I can lay my hands on a red top beams intake lid. Apparently you can strap that onto a normal airbox and you have yourself a redtop OEM intake.
 
Any other suggestions or ideas?
 
Thanks :D

The airbox is quite a bit larger on the Beams and uses a larger filter as well, so I don't believe you could use a regular 3sge airbox...

The BEAMS airbox is a different dimension as well as being a larger size, so as Rick said, it doesn't share the same air filter. Also, the BEAMS intake pipe is a bigger diameter... and that diameter is absolutely critical for the ECU/fuel/engine mapping to be managed correctly. The bottom of the OEM redtop airbox is also fluted in a way that smooths the airflow coming across the MAF sensor, so it's just as important as the lid.
 
I could go on about this for hours, but I'll keep it brief for the moment:
 
My redtop came from a Celica, so I didn't start with the correct airbox either. My temporary solution was to graft the first section of Celica intake pipe where the MAF is mounted onto the standard Gen3/4 airbox. It was a reasonable idea, but down by about 20bhp on what I discovered was in the engine once I got the full OEM MR2 BEAMS intake setup on the car – airbox, resonators, rubber intake hose and all.
 
Once I got that, I truly discovered what the redtop was meant to run like and what a great engine it is.
 
 

Well in that case, how the hell do I get my hands on one of those miracles of god?
I need the whole damn thing, that's going to be difficult... :/

Have heard so much about this intake thing on the beams engine... would love to see someone do a dyno run with a pod and then chuck on the real mccoy to see the difference. 

andezzat
Well in that case, how the hell do I get my hands on one of those miracles of god?
I need the whole damn thing, that's going to be difficult... :/

Try contacting Dylan at Gorilla Industries (forum sponsor), he may be able to find one for you...